Cause & Effect
by necowaffer
Summary: She's drawn to him like a moth to a flame, but when you play with fire you're bound to get burned. BraGoten
1. Home Alone

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z.

Authors Note: This is not a new story. This is the rewrite for Never Meant to Hurt You. Never Meant to was originally posted to FFN sometime in 2001 or 2002, back when they still allowed NC-17 stories. When those were banned, I pulled the story from the site. A few years later, I reposted an edited version of the story. Sometime after that, I reread the story and alternated between laughing out loud and hanging my head in shame because of how bad it actually was, so I pulled it again.

Some major changes have been made from the original, but it is still recognizable as the same story. The original, unedited story is still floating somewhere out there on the net. I hope that my writing has improved somewhat over the last eight years and that you enjoy this new version.

If you've read the original story, please let me know what you think of the new version. If this is your first time reading it, I hope you enjoy my story.

The song _Wicked Garden_ by Stone Temple Pilots is fueling this muse.

Warning: This story is rated M for Mature Audiences only. The first few chapters are quite smutty.

Chapter I: Home Alone.

* * *

Tuesday night found Bra curled up on the couch in the living room of her family home watching old horror films. This evening she had the house to herself, the rest of her family having gone to a picnic at Kame House earlier that day. She had opted to stay home, feeling tired and a little antisocial. The last couple of weeks had been very hectic for her and she'd just finished her finals the day before. Earning her degree by nineteen was no small task, even for a genius such as herself.

All she wanted some peace and quiet and little time to unwind. She had been somewhat disappointed that her father did not stay home with her. He was the one person who she could spend time like this with and Bra had dug out a bunch of old kung fu movies for them to watch and make fun of together. Perhaps he sensed her desire to be left alone or maybe he thought he could get a good spar out of Gohan, he had decided to go.

As soon as her family left, she dug out her oldest, most comfortable pair of sweats and an old tank, pulled her hair back into a sloppy ponytail, popped the biggest bowl of popcorn and curled up with her softest quilt for an uninterrupted night of scary movies. She let her mind go completely blank. No theories or equations or philosophy this and that, just yelling at the TV for the stupid girl not to run up the stairs or go investigate that strange noise coming from the basement.

That had been the plan, but about halfway through the second movie, she heard the front door open. She was irritated that they had come home so soon. Kame House parties usually ran all night and the sun was only just beginning to set. There was only one person coming in the house. Perhaps someone had forgotten something, but it was not her father having changed his mind or her mother forgetting her camera, it was Son Goten.

"Hey, B-Chan!" Goten said pleasantly as he came into the living room. "Where is everyone?"

"They're at Kame House for the picnic, where you're supposed to be." Bra answered; annoyed that he was disturbing her evening.

"I am?" Goten blinked in surprised. "Oh, that's right. Crap, my mom is going to kill me for not showing up."

"You should probably get going then." Bra rolled her eyes. Goten had the memory of a gnat. He'd forget his head if it weren't securely attached.

"Why aren't you there?" He asked, not catching the hint to leave.

"I just wanted some time to myself," Bra replied. "The last few weeks have been really busy for me. So I took the chance to have the house to myself ..." she trailed off, not sure if he was even listening.

Goten nodded, but he seemed more interested in the TV. "What are you watching?" He asked coming to sit next to her on the couch. "I don't think I've seen this."

"Some movie that's supposed to be scary," she watched as Goten made himself comfortable. "Make yourself at home," she muttered as he took a handful of popcorn. So much for her night alone. Though irritated as she was, she couldn't help but feel her body flush at his close proximity. He sat close enough that she could feel the heat of him on her skin. The last vestige of a childhood crush that'd somehow managed to carry into adulthood, unfurled inside of her. She didn't know what it was about the big, goofy Saiyan, but anytime he was near, her heart beat a little faster.

As the movie ended, Bra was glad that Goten had crashed her little party. It was much more fun to mock a bad movie with someone else around. She couldn't remember the last time she had laughed so hard or had such a good time doing nothing.

She turned the light on and grabbed another movie for them to watch. As she returned to her seat, she noticed Goten watching her with a thoughtful look on his face. "I don't think I've ever seen you wear your hair back before."

A hand went to her hair, remembering the messy knot she'd thrown it in earlier. Feeling a little embarrassed for not having her hair done, she started to pull it down when his hand caught hers. "Don't take it down," he said, one corner of his mouth curling up. "I like it like that." His hand gently swept the bangs off her face and she shivered at his touch. "I can see your eyes." The last was murmured so softly that Bra almost missed it.

The heat of his gaze brought blood to her cheeks as something not quite companionable flashed in his black eyes. Her stomach flip-flopped and for a moment, she felt lost as he held her in his onyx depths. "Thanks, Goten," she finally managed breathlessly after an intense moment, breaking away to turn off the light. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw a smirk.

It took a good chunk of the movie for her heart to stop pounding.

* * *

"So B-Chan," Goten started conversationally, "what would you do if you were being chased around by the undead?" She turned to look at him, noticing, probably belatedly, that he was casually toying with the ends of her hair, rolling the silky blue strands absently between his fingers.

She pulled the hair from his hand with a small frown; mentally cringing that he would give her split ends. "Well, I wouldn't go running around screaming like an idiot, that's for sure," Bra turned her frown at the woman on TV who was doing just that. "Zombies are stupid, I'd just destroy them."

"You don't know how to fight," Goten teased.

"Yes I do!" Bra said feeling offended. "I can kick your ass." She turned and stuck a finger in his broad chest, noticing off-handedly, how hard it was.

Goten gave a mocking laugh, brushing away the offending digit. "Maybe if I were asleep."

Annoyed with his teasing, she scooped up a handful of popcorn and threw it in his grinning face. "You're asking for it." Goten growled playfully.

"I'm not afraid of you, Third Class." Bra retorted haughtily, looking down her nose at him with a superior smirk.

The next thing she knew, popcorn was flying everywhere. Goten grabbed the bowl in an attempt to dump it on her, but Bra was quick, grabbing his arms and trying to turn it back on him. They struggled for a minute before he overpowered her. Realizing she had lost, Bra tried to get out of the way as the bowl fell down on her, hoping to keep the salty, buttery mess out of her hair and brought Goten down with her. They landed on the couch in a laughing, tangled heap of arms, legs and popcorn, him on top of her.

Still laughing, Goten propped himself up on one elbow and picked a piece of popcorn out of her hair. "I win," he said softly with a smug grin.

Bra giggled as she looked up at him. Black eyes locked with baby blue and her chest suddenly felt as if there were a humming bird trapped inside desperately trying to get out. He was so close; she knew he could feel it. Something changed in those endless depths. The good-natured humor vanished, replaced with something darker and smoldering. Something twisted inside of her as she watched the grin slowly melt from his face, leaving something much more intense in its place. His head dipped lower and he took a deep, ragged breath, inhaling her in. Feeling a sudden boldness, Bra closed the distant between them and kissed him. She could taste the salt on his lips from the popcorn. There was no hesitation as he returned the kiss.

He pressed his body closer, kissing her harder, igniting a fire in the pit of her belly and spreading heat throughout her body. Her hands snaked their way around his back, feeling the hard muscles of his shoulders before finally tangling in the hair at the nape of his neck. One of his hands held a fistful of blue hair while the other slowly made its way down her side. He was causing flames of desire to lick at her body and a small sound of pleasure escaped her.

An instant later, he was gone.

Breathing heavily, Bra sat up on her elbows to look for him. Goten was standing out of arms reach, his chest rising with each rasping breath he took, staring at her in what could only be described as wide eyed horror. Bra looked back at him, confused and wanting. Goten narrowed his eyes as he swore, taking another step away from her and before she could say anything, he was gone.

Hearing the front door slam shut in his hasty retreat, Bra laid back down, he blue hair spilling around her. Her body still thrumming with desire, her heart pounding madly, she raised one hand to her swollen lips and smiled.

Son Goten was a very good kisser.


	2. Cake

Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ.

Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews! It's awesome to know people out there are reading this. I tweaked a couple of things in the last chapter and changed the summary of the story. This thing is evolving on it's own from the original draft.

Chapter II: Cake.

* * *

A sound woke Bra from what had been a peaceful slumber. She rolled over, snuggling into her blanket and was drifting back off when she heard it again, louder this time. She glanced at the clock on the bed side table in annoyance and growled. Ten to three in the morning and there could only be one person rude enough to be making that much noise.

Bra squeezed her eyes closed in an attempted at going back to sleep, but the noise persisted steadily. Each muffled sound that made its way to her ears only served to feed her anger. Finally her irritation was so great that she knew she would not be going back to sleep anytime soon.

Throwing the blanket off with a frustrated sigh, Bra got out of bed deciding it would be better to hide out in the kitchen. Out in the hallway, she could clearly hear the cause of her disturbance. As she had thought, it was coming from her brother's room. The insensitive bastard had brought another girl home from the bar.

Though her home was large, enough to keep quite a few people comfortably, Bra had the misfortune of sharing a hall with her brother. Her parents were all the way on the other side of the house, conveniently oblivious to their son's habits. It had been just fine when she was four, but now she felt that things were getting a little cramped. Especially on nights like this.

They'd had this argument before; neither was willing to give up their room for a new one. Bra loved her room right where it was. It had a large balcony that overlooked the back yard and her grandmother's beautiful garden. An oasis in the bustling metropolis they lived in. With its own bathroom and sitting room, no other room in the house could compare.

Her brother was just stubborn since his room was half the size and faced the street. She supposed that had its advantages for a teen who liked to sneak out and cause trouble with his best friend. The room had originally been her mother's and she knew that there was a smaller room connected to it that had been Trunks' nursery. Now it was where he housed his better half whenever he crashed at their place.

Neither would budge on the issue and so she had to endure nights like this every so often.

Feet hitting the cold stone floor, Bra yawned widely as she entered the darkened kitchen. She didn't notice the room's other occupant until he greeted her, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin. It was all she could do to stifle her scream from waking the entire house. Speak of the devil.

"Goten," she hissed, eyes narrowed angrily as she tried to calm her beating heart. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Goten chuckled, clearly amused by her reaction, his eyes lingering on her scantly clad form a moment before disappearing in the large double door refrigerator. Bra had enough decency to be somewhat embarrassed at not having put on a robe before coming down stairs, but she had not counted on anyone else being down here.

Goten emerged a second later with a plate of food and a bottled water, which Bra promptly plucked out of his hand. Frowning, he retrieved another one and then leaned back against the appliance and started eating.

"What are you doing up?" He asked shoveling food in his mouth.

"Trunks," Bra sniffed unhappily. She hopped up onto to the island across from him, the marble countertop cold against her bare thighs. Goten chuckled again, the sound a little darker than before as he watched her, eyes sparkling in the dim light.

Bra rolled her eyes and crossed her legs. "Alone tonight?" She teased, flipping her hair behind her shoulder, leaving her neck bare.

"A swing and a miss," Goten grinned ruefully.

Bra almost snorted. She found it hard to believe that Goten would strike out. She knew that he dated often and she imagined he had a little black book stashed somewhere filled with girl's numbers. He had the whole tall, dark and mysterious thing going for him. The dark shirt that stretched across his broad shoulders did nothing to hide his sleek, powerful build. His skin looked soft and smooth and every graceful movement honed by his years of training screamed of power and control. Something dangerous and untamable lurked barely hidden in those fathomless black eyes.

Bra licked her lips, her mouth suddenly dry. Yeah, she doubted he had any trouble getting women. A disturbing thought occurred to her then.

"You guys aren't planning on sharing…" Goten snickered and Bra trailed off blushing.

"No," he smirked, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Not tonight anyway."

Bra made a face, disgusted. That was more information than she needed. The look he gave her said he'd expected that reaction. He was teasing her. Asshole. She frowned.

"What are you doing here?" She asked perturbed.

Goten speared the last bit of cake on his plate and shoved it into his mouth before answering. "Food."

"Figures," she muttered, taking a drink of her water.

Bra paused, watching as he licked the thick frosting from his fork. A delicate blue eyebrow went up as she noticed the attentive detail his tongue paid to getting every last bit. She could not tear her eyes away. He was _very_ intent on making sure not one spot was missed.

She felt the heat begin to rise and she bit her lip, a positively wicked idea coming to her.

Leaning back onto her hands, Bra uncrossed her legs causally, her knees falling open slightly. She smirked in smug triumph when the movement caught his attention, his face going completely blank.

"There's plenty to eat here," she said softly, a little surprised at how seductive her voice suddenly sounded.

She smiled fully when he licked his lips, emitting a low growl. In the blink of an eye, she found him standing in front of her. He moved so fast that she hadn't noticed until his hot hands were sliding up her thighs and she gasped. Her body reacted to his touch immediately. A small smirk toyed at the edge of his mouth as his eyes roamed her body freely before settling their intense gaze on her face. The fire that had threatened to consume her the last time he was this close blazed to life.

Inhaling deeply, Goten leaned in so close that she could feel his gentle exhale against her cheek. "Really?" His voice was so rough and deep in her ear that Bra closed her eyes, shivering. "Because I'm still hungry and you smell _delicious_."

Her eyes flew open and locked with his for one whole second before he crushed his mouth to hers in a bruising kiss. His hand fisted tightly in her hair, holding her in place. That tongue that had been so intent on frosting a minute ago was now intent at exploring her mouth. He tasted sweet and chocolaty and beneath that, she could taste hard liquor and smoke.

In some distant part of her mind that was still coherent, Bra wondered mildly if he was a smoker. It struck her then that she couldn't honestly say she knew much about him personally. He was her brother's friend and though he'd always been in her life, they never spent time together outside of friendly gatherings. They'd never spent any small amount of time alone and it said something about both of them that the first chance they do, they can't keep their hands off each other.

Bra broke the kiss, gasping from its intensity. Goten moved his mouth to her neck, teeth grazing, tongue tasting.

"Goten…" Bra moaned breathlessly, her voice painted with lust.

He answered her with another deep growl, fingers digging into her hips as he pulled her against him roughly. Bra inhaled sharply at the contact, nails tearing into his bicep, breaking the skin. Her long legs took on a mind of their own, wrapping themselves tightly around his slim waist. Goten's hand found its way under the thin cotton gown and was scorching its way across her abdomen while the other splayed across her back holding her to him as he pressed closer.

As his hand moved up, his mouth moved lower and Bra felt dangerously out of control. The scariest part was that she did not care. Did not want him to stop. Everywhere he touched, be it fingertips or tongue, was left burned in their wake. She couldn't remember having ever felt such blistering desire before. She needed him to sate this appetite he created in her.

Goten froze abruptly and turned his head sharply, cocking it to the side as if he were listening to something. Bra tensed with him, unsure of what he was sensing. It dawned on her then just where she was, what she was doing and with whom she was doing it with while her father slept above them. The man was a notoriously light sleeper with an even more notoriously short temper. The thought of him coming downstairs to find her pinned under Goten on his immaculate marble countertop where he ate his breakfast, wearing nothing more than a nightgown and guilty grin was enough to effectively put out her fire. To say that her father would not be please to find the son of his sworn enemy fondling his daughter under his nose would be a deadly mistake.

Taking into consideration that Goten had not bolted from the grounds as if his tail were on fire, Bra felt it safe to assume that her father was not yet awake. She twisted her fingers in his spiky black hair and turning his face to hers, kissed him. It was not as desperate as the one before though it held no less passion. His hand trailed it's was down her body, slowly going over every curve until it rested at her knee. When he finally pulled away, Bra was breathless again.

Brows pulled down, his smoldering onyx eyes captured her own. "You are trouble," he whispered, his mouth curling into a sensuous grin. Then he pulled away from her completely, turned around and left without a backwards glance.

Bra stayed rooted to the spot trying to catch her breath, until she heard the front door softly close in his departure. She didn't trust herself not to go chasing after him to finish what they'd started. Biting her lip, Bra tried to make sense of what exactly had just happened. One minute they were teasing each other and the next they were having the hottest make session she had ever experienced.

It was a full minute before she could trust her legs not to collapse from under her. Sliding down from the counter, she ran shaky hands through her rumpled hair and tried to smooth out her gown. She could hear someone moving around upstairs and a moment later, her brother appeared walking his "date" to the door.

Of course Goten would sense her brother. If it had been her father, they wouldn't have known he was there until they stood before King Enma. Trunks and Goten shared a bond that was just this side of creepy at the best of times.

She half listened to their murmured conversation while she set a bot to clean up Goten's mess. When the door closed, Bra walked into the hall and stood behind her brother with her hands on her hips. Trunks turned around, surprised to find her there.

"What are you doing up?" He asked. Bra rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, Trunks," Bra scolded. "You really need to get your own place. I'm tired of being woke up every time you decide to bring a girl home."

Trunks snorted in response then regarded her through narrowed eyes for a moment. "Why the hell are you so red?"

Bra felt herself blush to her roots, her skin tingling as she recalled exactly why. She could still feel Goten's hands on her body. Trunks would be livid if he found out. Crossing her arms over her chest, she frowned as hard as she could. "Maybe because I find you repugnant and embarrassing," she retorted between clenched teeth.

Before her brother could respond and interrogate her further, Bra turned and stomped up the stairs.


End file.
